“The robot’s detection rate is outstanding, particularly because COTS blend in very well with the hard, corals they feed on, and because the robot must detect them in widely varying lighting conditions and shapes as they hide among the coral.”

COTSbot has only been in development for 18 months, so seeing it succeed so soon is a big deal for the researchers.

“It’s always great to see a robot you built let off the leash, so to speak, doing the job it’s intended for,” said Matthew Dunbabin, another member of the QUT team.

“We couldn’t be more ecstatic about how COTSbot has performed. The next generation will be even better and hopefully we can roll it out across the reef relatively quickly.”

Last month, the COTSbot design won an upgrade with the people’s choice vote for the Google Impact Challenge Australia.